Bullied teen tells mom if perpetrators are not arrested she'll kill herself

News24

22-05-2025

What was intended to be a casual gathering escalated into a confrontation, resulting in her being beaten, slapped, and punched.
The mother of the 14-year-old that was filmed being beaten by seven teenagers from Yeoville says her daughter has threatened to take her own life if her bullies don't get arrested.
She explained to Drum that they've been having sleepless nights following the terrible ordeal.
Her daughter is too traumatised to watch or read anything that has to do with her bullying incident.
'I asked her if she wants to see the video that was shown on TV news and she refused, emphasising that she doesn't want to see anything that is a reminder of that day because it triggers suicidal thoughts in her.'
She explained that on the day of the incident two of the alleged perpetrators came to their home asking that her daughter accompany them to go buy food.
' It had been over a year since I last saw them so I was excited and granted my daughter permission to leave with them, little did I know that I was throwing her into the lion's den. Explaining the incident my daughter said they never went to buy food but instead walked to one of the alleged perpetrators home.'
She said upon arrival one of the girls said ' let's get to the point of this hook up.'
'My daughter said she was confronted about a conversation she had with two of the girls and that's how the beatings started. She was slapped, punched, kicked and hair pulled to a point that one line from her cornrows was ripped off from her head. I was shattered when she came home crying inconsolable.'
Asked about her interaction with the parents of the accused teens, the mother of the victim told Drum that she has no business talking to them.
'Initially I went with my daughter Yeoville SAPS to go and open a case. The police there refused and said we should talk as parents and try to come up with a solution or some form of a compensation. I insisted on having the case opened but the police weren't having it. So I told the parents I want R3000 from each perpetrator but they complained and said it was too much,' the victim's mother explained to Drum.
She said they all claimed to only afford R1000 and would pay it on the 28th of May.
However, with the help of community members she was able to open a case at Bedfordview SAPS.
'I wasn't sold with the idea of compensation although one of the parents already paid it. Community members volunteered to accompany me to Bedfordview SAPS. After being shown the videos of the incident the station Commander wasted no time and ordered that my daughter be fetched from school so she can give her statement. When we arrived at the school we discovered that that Education department had sent the police to help my daughter open a case after seeing the trending video.'
The mother said that although the seven teens were arrested she won't be satisfied until they are detained in a juvenile correctional center.
'So far I'm not happy, I want them to go to jail like any other person that has done wrong. Right now they are in the care of their parents sleeping peacefully at night whilst my daughter is having nightmares and threatening to kill herself. They need to learn a hard lesson, especially because this is not the first bullying incident they've been linked with,' she emphasised.
The National Prosecuting Authority's Phindi Mjonondwane explained that Wednesday's court appearance was for the finalisation of the preliminary inquiry.
'Remember that this inquiry seeks to establish their backgrounds, social economic factors, as well as any other circumstances that may have led them to commit that offence. Now that the process has been finalised, the matter has been postponed to the 28th of May.'